Aristide Priesthood Reported Over

November 16, 1994

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who alienated the Roman Catholic church hierarchy by championing the poor, will resign his priesthood, sources said Wednesday. The Vatican, which has been at odds with the populist preacher, pressured Aristide to resign, a church source said. A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Aristide would leave the priesthood. Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president, returned to Haiti on Oct. 15 after three years in exile following a September 1991 military coup. Thousands of U.S. soldiers came to the Caribbean nation to help restore his elected government.